The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1887-03-29
News from, Mars.
DISCOVERY OF THE MARTIAL CANALs-Is
THE RED PLANET INHABITED?

Inc discovery OI ueIWOTh Ol 50
called canals upon theplanet Mars by
Schiaparelli several years ago, has
been confirmed this year by observers
both in England and Italy In 1887,
Mars, being on the same side of the
sun that the earth was, and in that
part of its orbit which brought it I'M
usually close to the earth, shone with
great splendor in the midnight sky,
1t was under these favorable circum-
stances that Professor Hall, with the
huge telescope that had Just been set
at Washington, caught sight of two
small moons revolving close around
Mars, and moving so swiftly that they
might almost be compared to little
golden shuttles playing back and
forth on either side Of the ruddy
planets disc. The fame of this dis
coverv was so great, and the delight
of the astronomers, who found here a
new and totally unexpected test Of
the laws of planetary motion, so I'M
bounded that another discovery made
At the same time received compare
lively little attention. This other
discovery was the work of the keen
eyed director of the Milan Observa-
tory. NJ. Schiapareli. He found that
the equatorial regions of Mars were
intersected by long narrow lines which
resembled in color those spots that
are believed to be seas, and which be-
gun and ended in these Marian seas,
thus melting a close connection be
tween them.
The shape of these supposed water
courses suggested the name canals, J"
which was applied to them. Some
astronomers of reputation argued that
they really were canals constructed
bv the suppositious inhabitants of
Mars; and to the objection that the
canals were too large to admit of the
supposition that they could be artifi-
cial works-some being sixty miles or
more broad-they replied that since
the force of gravity upon Mars is very
much less than upon the earth, the
inhabitants of that planet might at
tain proportionately greater stature
and muscular power and agility that
would enable them to undertake works
utterly beyond the capacity of terres
trial men. This sort of speculation
tended to bring Schiaparelli's really
brilliant discovery into derision, par
ticularly among those whose telescopes
did not reveal the phenomena he had
detected. But Schiaparelli insisted
that he had seen what he. had seen,
and his discovery was defended by
his well-established reputation as an
observer.
In 1879, Mars being once more IA
vorably situated, he saw his canals
again, and discovered a number of
new ones. and in the fall and winter
of 16S1-S2 he repeated his observa-
tions. On these last two occasions he
made a still more surprising discovery
namely, that the canals, or many of
them. were double. Right alongside
those which he had seen before,
and following the same sinuosities, he
detected new canals. He made a map
of Mars on Mercator's projection, and
in this map the whole surface of the
planet, except in the polar regions, IS
seen covered with a network Of dark
stripes running in pairs, intersecting
the continents in every direction, and
invariably ending in the surrounding
seas.
The manner in which the doubling
of the canals was affected was not the
least astonishing part of the discovery.
They were not all seen double at once.
Schiaparelli himself suggested that
the phenomenon depended in some
way upon the seasons of the planet.
One after another the canals would
double up. No less than seventeen
successfully exhibited this appearance
in the course of single month. The
new canal would appear at first as
faint streak, barely discernable along
side of the old one. 1t would then
rapidly become darker and palmer,
until in the course of few days it
was as broad and distinct as the orig
inal canal.
The strange doubling of the so
called canals made the whole phenom-
enon appear to those who were orig
inally inclined to doubt Its reality as
the result of mere Imagination or self
deception on the part of the observer.
Schiaparelli himself relates that he
was SO astounded by what he saw that
at first he thought he must be the VIC
tim of an illusion, caused by fatigue
of the eye and some new kind of stra
bismus." But he convinced himself
by the most paipstlking observations
that there was no deception about his
discovery. ''As things stand" he said,
at would be premature to put forth
conjectures about the nature of these
canals. As to their existence 1 need
not say that l have taken every nee
essary precaution to avoid even the
suspicion of illusion, and 1 am abso-
lutely certain of what 1 have seen"
Yet, Notwithstanding NJ Schiapar-
ellis assurance that the world of Mars
really possesses these curious mark